Unless we’re talking about Rafa Benìtez, if you’re a Premier League manager, Alex Ferguson is going to be somewhat supportive. Even Arsène Wenger, who at one time had quite a tete-a-tete with the Manchester United boss, has since earned Ferguson’s public admiration. Unless you come after him (which has happened more than a few times), Ferguson tends to be pretty respectful of his peers.

Predictably, there was a degree of gasp-shock-awe at a man being let go one year after claiming the Premier League title. Ferguson was no different:

It is quite amazing … He has won the FA Cup, been in the final, second in the league and won the league and it’s not good enough? I was surprised, but actually no, you can’t say you are surprised not with some owners today. You can’t be surprised, but I still don’t think it was right.

I was with the chief executive of Liverpool at our reserve game the other night and he told me that Brendan Rodgers, who has not been in the job a year, is the 30th longest-serving manager in the country. That’s incredible.

Honestly, that last factoid is pretty incredible. Even if you assume Ferguson means just the Football League, it’s hard to fathom, but when you look at the Premier League and see only eight men (Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, David Moyes, Sam Allardyce, Tony Pulis, Alan Pardew, Martin Jol, Roberto Martinez) were at their job this time last year, the number starts to make sense.

And, of course, Ferguson is moving on. Moyes is switching jobs. Roberto Martinez seems likely to leave Wigan, while there are questions whether Pulis, Pardew and Jol will return. If Arsenal stumbles on Sunday, you never know, and with Real Madrid’s coaching position set to open up, Sam Allardyce may yet get the kind of job he feels he deserves (ah, old jokes).

Back to Mancini. On one hand, what Ferguson says make sense. He doesn’t spell it out, but it is pretty absurd that a number of clubs have created expectations that FA Cups and league titles can’t fulfill. On the other hand, that’s the clear state of the modern world. If your team falls flat with the kind of payroll Mancini’s was carrying, you’re going to get reevaluated.

For some, it’s unfortunate. But changes like the one Manchester City’s made are, as Ferguson said, not surprising.